Feral cat society: Only scratching the surface

C.B. group has neutered 1,000 felines but 10,000 remain, with funding a challenge

A feral cat peeks out through some high grass in Sydney on Thursday. (STEVE WADDEN)

SYDNEY — A group devoted to downsizing Cape Breton Regional Municipality’s growing population of feral cats has reached a milestone.

Carmen Dunn, spokeswoman for the Feral and Abandoned Cat Society, said over 1,000 cats were spayed or neutered and released since the non-profit organization began operations in November 2012.

“It’s not a problem that’s exclusive to Cape Breton,” said Dunn.

“This happens when people do not get their cats spayed or neutered, or they don’t get them spayed or neutered in time.

“We might be making an impact on a colony here and there, but for the overall impact on the CBRM though, it’ll probably take between four and six years at least before we really see a more bigger-picture impact.”

While the number of sterilizations is an accomplishment for the group, it only scratches the surface in terms of how many stray cats are in the municipality. The society estimates there are over 500 cat colonies and well over 10,000 cats in the region.

To carry out its work, the society, which formed out of a municipal working committee, receives $25,000 a year from regional council.

Society volunteers raise additional money through fundraising efforts, such as the sale of 50-50 tickets in partnership with a group called Friends of Cape Breton’s Homeless Animals.

“We have loftier goals,” said Dunn. “We would like to spay and neuter 1,000 a year, but it basically comes down to money.”

When a colony is found, volunteers typically bring food, water and shelters to ensure the felines have the necessities of life.

On average, about two phone calls are placed to the society each week regarding cat colonies, a number that increases during the spring mating season.

But catching the strays can be difficult.

“There’s always at least one that’s really difficult to trap,” said Dunn. “Sometimes it can take a long time to get one.”

Dunn said the society recently caught a female cat in Little Pond that had evaded their efforts for a year. Within that span of time, the cat gave birth to 20 kittens.

“Females are, of course, the ones you want the most because they’re the ones having the babies,” said Dunn.

“So it can be hard at times, just because they’re too smart for it — or scared. They’re frightened to come near something that smells different or is foreign.”

For kittens that are found, efforts are made to domesticate the animals, although Dunn said this is usually only possible if the kittens receive human contact within weeks of being born.

In other instances, group members find domestic cats living within a feral colony.

“Occasionally, we can tell that a cat’s been abandoned,” said Dunn.

“It’s just really a terrible thing to do, and some people don’t know better and some people just don’t care.”

Dunn said colonies tend to be made up of related cats. This means that when a new cat is introduced, it is often attacked, rejected and kept away from food sources.

Any domestic cats that are found within a colony are removed and taken to the SPCA.